TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
I am fine with a season or two of bad if I feel like they are building to something. As things stand right now, that's not gonna happen. I love Demar and will miss him when he moves on.
The NBA Thread
- Thread starter Woob_woob
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MikeH
Well-Known Member
DownIsTheNewUp
Well-Known Member
As somebody who lives in Chicago and, as a diehard Nuggets fan, thought Arturus would turn things around (and then he proceeded to be awful)... It's an ownership issue.
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MikeH
Well-Known Member
haven't they not made an in-season trade since he got here? not sure if he's being too conservative or (more likely) ownership is preventing him from doing his job.
DownIsTheNewUp
Well-Known Member
The Vuc trade was moronic when it happened and looks even worse now. The Magic got Wendal Carter + drafted Wanger and (tbd) Jett Howard with those picks.
He could have traded Curuso for two firsts last season and chose not to. Dorozen could have netted at least a 1st. And as soon as Ball's injury became longterm a teardown should have been the plan.
His draft picks have also been iffy. The Ayo pick was solid but the Pat Williams pick has not worked out. If you were dead set on a forward, Vassell should have been the pick. Obviously, Hali was also on the board but that wasn't happening with the glut of guards the Bulls have.
Its just funny because there were all these national media types who were convinced Arturus was the mastermind of the Nuggets and that they would tank without him. Meanwhile, Tim's gone on to build another contender and the Bulls are still trash.
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Speaking of the Nuggets, holy cow Silver tried last night with the officiating. The 27-9 with the Lakers playing extremely physical... as epitomized by the AD foul that was somehow overturned. It was the type of game that makes being an NBA fan feel gross.
Not sure we have the depth or the health to win it all this year. The Wolves are a tough matchup and run 9 deep. But it'll always feel good beating the Lakers specifically because they are the league's special pet.
I'd really like to see somebody somebody beat OKC in round 2. I love me some Jaydub but they are getting too good, too fast and the lack of growing pains is starting to reek of potential dynasty.
Also, Jamal is playing through shin splints, a calf strain and knee inflammation right now. The calf strain originally occured a month b4 the season ended when he suffered a hugh ankle sprain and he missed most of the remaining games. Reagravated it in game 4 and then has his best game of the series in game 5. Wild stuff. Dude's pain tolerance is both a blessing and a curse.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I am a White Sox fan too. Jerry Reinsdorf is responsible for much of my sports misery.
As a Nuggets fan I agree 100% that the officiating does leave one feeling dirty. Same as most of the commercials that run repeatedly during each of the many, many breaks. With the NBA in the middle of TV contract negotiations without Bron and KD out of the playoffs I imagine Silver is pulling his hair (ha) out right now. As for Jamal’s physical and mental toughness, he is nails. Great sense of humor too as his mock flex after posterizing James was super rich.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Do the White Sox and the Rockies have an inter league series this year? It will be like watching eight year old Little Leaguers running amok on the field if they do.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
That’s what it is!
Seriously.
I was just thinking about how wide open the playoffs feels at this point (I like the T-Wolves but who knows really) and that is really the difference. This is a torch-passing paradigm shift in the league not so different to when the Bird-Magic NBA became the Jordan NBA that became the Shaq-Kobe NBA, etc… the difference is we don’t know who’s the ascending power that is going to replace them at this point. Obviously The T-Wolves and OKC are the two teams that jump out. I saw on Sportscenter that, with an average age of 23, OKC became the youngest team ever to win a playoff series.
The reason this post season has been more compelling is that there is genuine mystery about who is gonna make it to the Finals let alone win the championship.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
Psymon
Active Member
Wow! I feel old now.
Not feeling good about the Nuggets repeating. With Reggie Jackson as Murray’s backup I think we are in trouble. Plus, they showed very little intensity against the Lakers and ball handling was terribly sloppy. Going to have to be much better vs the T-Wolves.
DownIsTheNewUp
Well-Known Member
Jokic is the basketball version of Muhamed Ali-- he loves to rope a dope teams. Not worried about his effort level against the Lakers. As frustrating as it is to watch, the team is notorious for playing with their food until they have to turn it on. And in 4/5 games, they turned it on and had more energy down the stretch because of it.
That said, I am deeply worried about our bench versus the Wolves and / or Jamal's health. MPJ's growth can help compensate for Mal not being 100%, but against the Wolves it will need to look closer to last night than the 1st three games. Because we are going to lose the 3 point line most nights. And they have a phenomenal bench that will benefit them as the series drags on.
On the other hand, we have homecourt and the best player in the series. And Braun struggled against the Lakers last year too, so I'm hoping he can bounce back. He did a solid job on Ant (who KCP is too small for) in the regular season. MPJ feasted in those games too but they might prevent that by putting Ant on Jamal which would free McDaniels to play MPJ.
Either way, if we get past the Wolves and have maintained health, I'm pretty confident in our chances of repeating. OKC lacks size, the data says AG does a better job on Luka than almost any defender in the league and the Celtics are the opposite of Denver in a tight game, late-- anti-clutch. But as of now, I'd call the Wolves series a coin flip that probably comes down to who plays better between MPJ and KAT. And if Mal goes down it's over so...
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MikeH
Well-Known Member
People have been underestimating OKC all year. I wouldn’t write them off.
DownIsTheNewUp
Well-Known Member
I haven't. I hammered their over before the season and have been a Jdub truther since day one.
And as I said above, I think they are likely a dynasty in the making. But the don't have a center which is a problem against Denver. And history repeatedly says that a team as young as they are needs a couple tough playoff losses before they are ready.
Them vs. the Wolves-- not sure how that goes. Because Rudy can't punish Chet's lack of size. SGA is more consistent than Ant and they'd have home court.
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Psymon
Active Member
This Wolves-Nuggets series (I hope/think) is going to be a heavyweight bout. Can’t wait.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
@sahomerrocks Build around Maxey and trade Embiid!
sahomerrocks
Well-Known Member
You're telling me Embiid had a not great game and other players managed to step up and the Sixers won?
Outstanding game from Maxey. Unbelievable shit. Despite the bad game, Embiid still had a statline others would be praised for, should have honestly had a 15/15/15 game, and he was excellent in OT.
Either way, the cap space plan the Sixers rolled with this year is probably why they lose this series and the Knicks, who went out and got players near the deadline, will most likely win.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Embiid got robbed of the quadruple double with TOs. Awful late game execution by the Knicks. Mitch played a great game then the stupid foul on that Maxey 3 (Maxey might have gotten away with a travel on that one…). OG missing a FT. The decision not to foul Maxey on the last possession before the shot went up…